AO RAPIER

Image © 2001 J. Cornett [Although the original is a Defence Mapping Agency map in the Public Domain; the above has been significantly altered, and falls within the Fair Use Clause of The Copyright Act. You must have J. Cornetts permission to reproduce the above map, cut & paste it to a web page, or otherwise use it on the internet.] AO 'RAPIER' (35 miles N.W. of Saigon. Trang Bang area) Part of the 2/12th Infantry's Area of Operation (AO), this map covers only about one-forth of the battalions 80(+/-) square kilometer battlefields of 1968 through early 1970. (The black boxes on the above map are one kilometer by one kilometer. One 'klick' = 6/10ths of a mile.) €TRANG BANG is to the lower left and just off the map. €FSB PERSHING is dot marked 'P' at upper right. The blue area, just to the right of Pershing, is 'Round Lake'. €CHECK POINTS The black hand-written letters (A to H) are 'check points' on TL-6A [Six Alpha], the faint red line is the road. [Red numbers were hand-written referances to grid lines.] *

Photo © 2001 J. Cornett 'ROUND LAKE' (XT555222) Locacted ½ klick due south of Patrol Base Dees. You are looking almost due east (azimuth 105º+/-), in the direction of Cu Chi. *

Compare this Vietnam War era picto-map of Round Lake orientated to the above photograh. The solid black line (touching the lake) is the east-west grid line 22 – east being the top of the frame. The black dot at the far left (identified by the blurry 'D') is the location of Dees. The "three hootches in a row" near Dees that can be clearly seen on this map. These were latter destroyed because they were used by the VC/NVA at night to fire on us.

Patrol Base Dees

Photo © 2002 by Ken Nerpel [A Co. Mortars NOV68 to NOV69] PB Dees (XT556228) was a company sized BAIT – four klicks east-south-east of Pershing – established 6May69. It was hit almost every night from the time it was built. You could set your watch by Nguyen, the nightly sniper. Other than sniping, Charlie would mortar us when we pissed him off – and we were always doing that! The battalion lost a lot of good men, killed and wounded in this area just south of 'the Citadel.'

Photo © 2001 D. Ashley This view of Alpha company's supply tent was taken at FSB Stuart / Trang Bang bridge.

Nui Ba Dien

BLACK VIRGIN MOUNTAIN (Tay Ninh) Beautiful photograph of the mountain and helicopter's M-60. Note the C-Ration Can attached to the weapons feed-mechanism - a common 'field expedient' modification, to help prevent jamming. The literal translation of Núi Bâ Dien is Black Virgin Mountain. Photo © 2001 J. Cornett

All photographs are copyrighted and are the intellectual property of their owners. Site © 2001 Bruce Holzhauer bhbim@webtv.net

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